Harry Potter and the Game Of Thrones
by HunchHunchWhatWhat
Summary: Harry was always meant to be a Slytherin. Starting in his fourth year, Harry decides that maybe he should start acting like it. Now that he is forced into the TriWizard Tournament, Harry plans on playing the game in a way no one could have ever dreamed.
1. I'll Cover You

Screaming. That's all anyone could hear as they ran out of their tent. What they once thought was the excessive celebration of the Irish Quidditch fans was in reality a massive attack.

Harry quickly pulled out his wand in hopes of attacking one of the Death Eaters but found that it was missing. He quickly scanned the ground in hopes of finding it but it was to no avail. He immediately turned to go pack into the tent when a hand pulled at him.

"Harry, we have to go."

It was Hermione. The frantic way she pulled at his arm and desperate plea to her voice made him forget about his wand for the moment. Right now she was scared and he needed to make sure that she was safe.

The two of them soon caught up with Ron who had stayed behind when he noticed that Harry and Hermione had fallen back. He told Fred and George to go on with Ginny and they would meet them at the portkey. Once they were reunited, the trio started to make a run for it but an exploding tent forced to head into the nearby woods until it was safe to make a break for it.

While hiding, Harry couldn't help but notice that Hermione was clinging to arm, digging her nails into his shoulder. Harry turned to her and tried to calm her down.

"Hermione, you need to be calm. Everything is going to be okay. But we have to keep our heads."

"But what if they find us. We can't defend ourselves against them Harry. They'll kill us."

Harry saw the look and fear in her eyes did the only thing he could do.

"Or worse, they'll expel us," Harry said with a light chuckle at the end.

Hermione turned to look at him and gave him the tiniest smile. She was in no way relieved but the fact that he was trying made her feel a little less nervous.

"Well now that she is all calmed down, how the hell do you think we can make back to the portkey," Ron said, finally adding his two cents to the conversation.

Before Harry could respond, another voice rang out from the woods.

"You won't be able to escape."

Harry knew the sound of forced arrogancy without even turning his head.

"Shut it Malfoy."

"No, it's true. You won't make back to that shack that Weasley calls a home. Out of the three of you, only the mudblood has a chance of living through the night."

"And why is that Malfoy?" Hermione spat back him. "I thought purebloods were too good to be keep mudbloods alive?"

"Trust me Granger when I say you won't be alive for very long. But even mudbloods have their purpose in pureblood circles. On their knees. Their backs with their legs spread. Or even bent over takin..."

Malfoy never finished that sentence as Harry closed the distance between them and quickly brought his fist into contact with Draco's face. Harry had never felt as powerful as when he heard the crunching sound of Malfoy's nose.

Harry turned back around to see Ron and Hermione stared at him in shock. They had never seen lose his temper to that extent before. While Ron had a massive smile on his face, Hermione was sporting a more pensive look. Harry had just reacted in an extremely violent way about something in relation to her. Draco wasn't threatening Harry that caused Harry to react that way. It was a threat towards her that drove Harry to dropping Malfoy. A small part her, deep down inside, was thrilled about that. That Harry, her best friend in the world, would go to such lengths to protect her.

Harry, however, now noticed that Death Eaters were moving away from the woods so he motioned to his two friends that they needed to make a run for it now. The three bolted from the woods and towards the hill. While Ron and Hermione made it through the throngs of people still running around, Harry bumped into someone and fell. He looked at the man whom he had ran into and thought he looked familiar. He couldn't place his face but something was pounding into his memory that he had seen this man before and it wasn't a good thing. But what was even more recognizable was the object that lay in between them: Harry's wand.

Hermione had stopped running when she realized that Harry, once again, was no longer behind her and Ron.

"Ron wait!"

"Hermione, we need to hurry up and reach the portkey," Ron said breathing heavily. He was worried about his siblings and didn't think he could waste anymore time getting back to them. He wanted to go home.

"Ron, Harry not behind us. We have to go back and look for him."

"Harry's a big boy Hermione. He can get back by himself. He's not the Boy-Who-Lived for nothing."

Hermione stared back at her friend with a look of complete and utter disappointment. "Ronald Weasley, do you think Harry would leave you behind if the situation was reversed." Before Ron could even open his mouth, Hermione cut him off. "No! He would make sure you got back alright. We have to make sure he's safe."

Ron looked into the eyes of the girl he was starting to have feelings for and conceded. They turned back around and saw Harry wrestling on the ground with someone else looking to gain possession of a wand. Hermione screamed out Harry's name and the stranger looked up at her. Harry did the only thing he could do with the man's broken concentration. He thrust his knee up and nailed the guy right in the crotch.

Having regained possession of his wand, the trio started running for the hills. But the stranger would not be deterred. He grab a wand that laid near (hopefully) unconscious and started to chase after them. The trio were faster and was able to create a bit distance between them and their stalker. Running by exploding tents and watching random spells fly overhead proved easy for Harry due to his seeker reflexes. Ron and Hermione, however, had almost been caught several times in the crossfire.

Finally, the trio make to the hilltop where they Fred, George and Ginny. The six kids laid down next to the old boot and waited to be taken back to the Burrow. Harry was wondering why the portkey was taking so long when he looked behind him and saw the stranger behind them. He saw the man take aim and fire off a spell. What worried Harry the most was that the spell wasn't aimed at him; the spell was heading straight for Hermione. Harry did the only thing he could do.

Hermione was waiting for the portkey to activate when she noticed a strange look in Harry's eye. He wasn't looking at her but behind her. The look on his face said it all. A spell was heading straight for her. She closed her eyes and just prayed that it wasn't the killing curse. SHe then felt a something heavy fall on top her and a split second later she felt herself being pulled into the air. They had made it.

When they landed on the outskirts of the Burrow, Hermione felt whatever had landed on her roll off. She looked over to what it was and suddenly paled. It was Harry.


	2. Mad World

Hermione was in a state of shock as they walked back to the Burrow. Fred and George were carrying Harry while Ron was ushering back a sobbing Ginny. Hermione, however, just stood rooted to the spot where they arrive. She couldn't stop processing what had just happened.

'Why would he do that? Why would he cover me? Why did he feel his life was worth less than mine?'

These were the thoughts that ran through Hermione's head as she just stood there. It wasn't till she heard Ron screaming her name that she finally came back to the land of the living. She proceeded to run full speed to the Burrow, barrelling past Ron and into the house. The scene she ran into was one of mass panic.

Ginny was still crying, Fred (or George) gently rubbing her back assuring her that it would be okay. Molly was yelling a mile a minute at George (or Fred) about what happened and why Harry was in this state. Ron came in seconds after Hermione still breathing hard from their espace.

"Hermione," Ron huffed out, still trying to catch his breath, "are you okay?"

Hermione ignored Ron's question as her gaze was fixed on Harry's body, which laid face down on the couch. She slowly walked over to the couch and sat down, shifting Harry's head so that it was now on her lap. She gently started to stroke his face, unsure of what else to do.

While the rest of the Weasley's looked on, Arthur entered through the front door. Molly ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, thankful that all the people she cared for were still alive. The twins updated their father on the situation with and watched as he quickly went to the fireplace to make a floo call. While Arthur was talking to someone, Molly walked Ginny in the kitchen to try and calm her down. Fred and George thought it might be a good idea to bring down Harry's pajamas as well as a blanket since they figured Harry wasn't going anywhere. Ron, however, had not moved a muscle since Hermione sat down next to Harry. He didn't know why but the intimate nature of Hermione stroking Harry's hair and face left him feeling jealous. These, while not entirely new, had been rearing up more and more ever since Harry had come to the Burrow.

_FLASHBACK_

_Harry's departure from the Dursley's was quite possibly one of the greatest moments of his young life. yes, Arthur was made and yes, the twins would get in trouble for it but it was still worth it. Ron showed Harry up to his room so that he could unpack and hopefully get some flying in before Arthur told Molly and their brooms would be confiscated. _

"_BOYS!"_

_Too late. Ron groaned as he heard his mother scream. He started to slowly exit the room when he looked back towards Harry._

"_Pray for me."_

"_Any particular god?"_

"_All of them."_

_Ron then left to meet his irate mother. While Harry was still unpacking, he heard someone knock on the door._

"_Come in," Harry said absently._

_Harry turned around to see and was coming in when his eyes bugged out. There stood his best friend: Hermione Granger. But she was different somehow. She seemed taller and she had a light tan. Her hair was still as bushy as before and her front teeth were still bucked but Harry never really cared much about that. He was brought out of his stupor when she wrapped him in a big hug._

"_I thought I heard you arrive downstairs. How has your summer been so far?"_

_Harry stuttered a bit before replying, "It's been great. The twins pulled a prank on Dudley before we left."_

_Hermione frowned at this and so Harry, wisely, changed the subject._

"_What about you? How has summer been? You look...good." The way Harry stammered all this out made it quite obvious he was nervous for some reason. However, Hermione, who was blushing after Harry's compliment didn't notice._

"_It has been perfect so far. Before I came here, my parents took us on holiday in southern France." _

'_That explains the tan,' Harry thought to himself._

"_It was so great to be able to with them. I get homesick at school so when I get the chance to spend with my parents, I just take full advantage of it," Hermione said in a joyful rant. She then noticed that Harry's face had turned downcast. She was curious as to why before it hit her._

'_He'll never have what I have with my parents'_

_Hermione walked right back to Harry and gave him another hug. This one was softer and gentler than her previous one. Harry didn't say anything to her but he returned the hug. Their relationship was one that neither had to say anything to understand what the other was thinking. Hermione knew Harry was thinking about his parents during her rant and Harry knew Hermione knew. This was what Ron walked back in on as he re-entered his room. _

"_What's going on?" Ron said with a hint of venom to it. _

_Harry and Hermione jumped apart at the sudden question and exchanged nervous looks._

_Harry recovered first and gave Ron a suitable explanation. _

"_I was just thanking Hermione for her early birthday present," Harry said enthusiastically._

"_What are you talking about? What birthday gift?"_

"_Well, as you know Ron, Harry has decided to stop taking that farce of a class Divination."_

_Ron nodded his head as he knew Harry no longer wanted to take the class. While Ron felt abandoned that his two best friends were leaving him behind, he couldn't fault Harry for not wanting to hear about how he was going to die for ten months._

"_So Hermione decided to lend me her notes for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes so that I could possibly be added to one of the classes for next semester. Professor McGonagall told me she would schedule brief oral exams for me with the professors. If I performed well enough I could placed in the fourth year class."_

_Ron looked at Harry with mild shock. "So you spent half of your SUMMER VACATION studying?" Harry nodded. "Well what happens if you do well enough to get into both classes?"_

_Harry hadn't thought about that prospect. "I guess if that happens then I will take both classes. I mean if Hermione could do it then so could , right?"_

_Hermione beamed at the praise that Harry had just given as well as the confidence in himself. However, the smile that was adorned on her face quickly went away when her other friend spoke._

"_That's barmy mate. Hermione is a freak of nature. No normal person could do that. Bloody hell, no normal person would do that."_

_Ron was looking at Harry, hoping that he would agree with him. Instead, he saw quickly dart his eyes to Hermione._

"_Is that how you think of me Ronald?"_

_Ron stiffened as he heard Hermione use his full name. He slowly looked at her and could she was holding back her emotions. What scared him was that he couldn't tell whether it was sadness or anger. Ron started to speak when Hermione cut him off. _

"_Never mind Ronald. I'll leave you be. Wouldn't want my freakish, abnormal intelligence to rub off on you. Then you wouldn't need me to help you with your homework." With that, Hermione stalked out of the room. _

_Ron just stared after her, realising how bad he had just messed up. She hadn't ended their friendship, which was good but Ron wasn't too thick to realise the threat he had just been given. He turned towards Harry to see him standing there with an exasperated look on his face. He would have to play mediator between the two of them. Harry walked towards the door to go calm down Hermione. Right before he left, he turned back to Ron and he told him what he was thinking._

"_Sooner or later, you're going to do something that I won't even be able to get her to forgive you. And trust me when I say this Ron, if that day ever comes you won't just lose Hermione." With that said Harry walked out of Ron's room._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

Everything changed after that day. Harry was spending more time with Hermione reviewing her notes. He still hung out with him but it always seemed tense as Ron wanted to know if Harry had gotten Hermione to forgiven him yet. Harry never answered in the affirmative or negative, simply stating that Ron would know when he was forgiven.

And now Hermione was gently stroking Harry's hair, on his couch, in his home. Watching this, Ron decided that if their friendship was going to remain intact, he would have to make the first move. He moved to pick up a blanket on one of the chairs in the living room and draped it over Hermione's shoulders. He proceeded to sit next to her and wrap his arms around her waist.

"He'll be fine. This is Harry we're talking about. He always finds his way back," Ron said sincerely. While he may have been jealous at their closeness over the past few weeks, it didn't change the fact that his best friend was in serious danger. Hermione didn't speak. Instead she simply rested her head on Ron's shoulders giving him a silent thanks for what he just said.

Arthur finally removed his head from the fireplace and seemed to waiting for something to happen. About two minutes later Minerva McGonagall and Poppy Pomfrey entered the Weasley's living room.

"Where is he?" the two women said simultaneously.

Arthur pointed to the couch where the three teenagers were now resting. Poppy told Ron and Hermione to move away from Harry. While Ron moved immediately, Hermione was much more reluctant to leave his side. Stroking his face allowed her to focus her mind on something instead of what really happened. She didn't know what she would with herself if she stopped. Eventually, the Deputy Headmistress went to her side.

"I know it's hard Hermione but Poppy needs you move aside. I know you're scared but you need to trust us. We want him to feel better just as much as you do."

Hermione heard everything her idol said but she just couldn't do it. She couldn't leave his side. This was her fault so it was her responsibility to stay by his side.

"Let me try Minerva," Poppy said gently.

Minerva moved away as Poppy went to say something to Hermione. She was unsure what the aged medi-witch was saying but the look of Hermione's face was not as dark as it was before.

"Really?" Minerva had a puzzled look on her face when Hermione asked this. Poppy simply nodded her head and told her that she needed Hermione to move away so that she could do her job properly.

Minerva then watched Hermione get up and move to the other couch watching intently as Hermione eyes never left Harry's prone body. Thirty minutes by the time Poppy was finished with her work. When she noticed she was finished, Hermione and the rest of the Weasley's gathered around to hear what she had to say.

"It seems he'll have another scar. But outside of that, nothing permanent. His body will be sore for a few days and he'll need to apply ointment to his wound everyday to avoid infections."

Those gathered simply nodded. Hermione took her seat back and went back to work on caressing Harry's face. As Minerva and Poppy were about to floo back to Hogwarts, Hermione slowly turned to them and whispered a word of thanks. The two witches nodded their heads and left.

Arthur and Molly ushered their children up to bed as it was very late and they all needed their rest. Molly and Arthur, however, could not convince Hermione to move. She had only done it before so that Harry could get proper medical attention. Now that he had it, she had no intentions of leaving his side until he woke. And after what Madam Pomfrey had just told her, she knew he deserved nothing less.

Harry woke up in a daze. He felt a strange tingling sensation in between his shoulder blades and ran down all the way to his lower back. He also felt another strange sensation but this was more pleasant. Someone was lightly stroking his face. He didn't mind the sensation all that much. If he could be honest with himself, he actually loved the feeling. Featherlight strokes going across his cheeks and his forehead. Each caress made Harry feel better and better about his current situation. Then, all of a sudden, the gentle fingers traced the outline of his scar. The touch seemed so intimate, so personal that he didn't know what to make of it. He stirred, turning onto his back so that he could look up at the person who was making him feel so content.

"Her...Hermione?"

**A/N: This is my first story so this note might not cover all it needs to but I will try my best to make certain things clear.**

**First, Harry was hit with just a curse. In my mind, it's the same one that took down Hermione in OotP.**

**Next there will be mild to major Ron bashing in this story depending on where I take Harry. There will also be some mild Cedric bashing as I feel there could be a great rivalry between the two during the tournament.**

**To answer GreenGrizzly: yes on the horcruxes, no on the Hallows. **

**Next chapter will be the end of summer and lead up to the champion selection. It is after he is selected that the story truly starts to take form.**

**Thanks for the kind reviews. Hope you liked this chapter and hope you will leave more feedback for me to create a good story. Thanks again.**


	3. Back Flash

"Her...Hermione?"

The hands that just been caressing his face stopped immediately. All that followed was a choked sob and mumbled 'Thank You.' Slowly, Hermione tilted her head down to look at Harry.

"You're awake," she whispered. The way she she said this made Harry's heart ache. The desperation in her voice made him aware of how serious his injury was.

"So are you?" Harry tried to cut the tension in hopes of helping her relax. It didn't work.

"Why Harry?"

"Why what?" He was genuinely confused by the question Hermione had just asked him.

"Why did you move in front of me?"

He couldn't believe she had actually asked him that. Of all the things, she actually seemed mad that he had protected her.

"Why wouldn't I Hermione? You think that I would watch while you got struck by a curse? Do you really think so little of me that I would do nothing?"

"You could have died," Hermione sobbed out. She was barely holding herself together.

"As I recall, me risking my life is how we became friends in the first place."

Hermione stiffened slightly at that. She never thought about how they became friends, she focused on the fact that they were friends. But now that Harry had brought it up, her mind went back to that fateful Halloween night.

_FLASHBACK_

'_What a jerk,' she thought. 'I was just trying to help him.' _

_Hermione was alone in the girls bathroom trying to get her emotions under control. She had cried all afternoon after a group of her housemates, led by the brilliant Ronald Weasley, teased her for being smart. It wasn't that she hadn't known this feel; she was teased enough during primary school. However, she thought here she would find acceptance but instead it was the same. No friends, no family, nothing. These people were supposed to be her family, that's what Dumbledore had said during the big feast at the end of the year but now she realised it was all a lie._

_Hermione hadn't realised how late it was. Once she became aware that she missed a class due her crying she was too embarrassed to go to any other class knowing that Ronald would be there. He would know how his taunts affected her and wouldn't give him the satisfaction. So she stayed in the bathroom till dinner hoping she could sneak back up to the common room while everyone else was eating. _

_As she went to leave the stall, she smelt the most foul odor. She wondered if she was the only one in the bathroom. She decided to be as quiet as she could so that she could sneak out without the other girl knowing someone was in there. However, the smell came from something far worse. Because standing right in front of the first year was a fully grown mountain troll. The beast was snarling at her. She couldn't move her feet. She froze up while staring at the behemoth of a monster. She closed her eyes and accepted the fact that she was about to die when something caught her eye. Bursting into the girls bathroom was Harry Potter. The boy saw the club raised high above the trolls head and he did the only thing he could do._

"_Duck, you idiot!"_

_Hearing the command, Hermione dropped down just as the troll swung his club. The stalls were destroyed as Hermione tried crawling away from the beast. However, the troll stayed in front of her blocking her escape. Harry tried his best to draw attention to himself by throwing parts of the broken at the troll's head but nothing seemed to work. He looked over and saw Hermione in the corner cowering in fear. She looked helpless and afraid and it was that image of the frightened girl that drove him to do something completely reckless._

_Harry ran full speed at the troll as it was rearing back for another swing. He timed his jump perfectly and was able to grab onto the troll's club. Right before it had the chance crush Hermione, Harry let go and landed on top of the troll's head. He clawed at its eyes and even went so far as to shove his wand up its nose. AS all this was going on, Harry screamed towards Hermione._

"_Run! Get out of here now!"_

_Hermione didn't need to be told twice. She bolted up and made for the door. But right as she was about to leave, the troll had managed to shake Harry off and throw him to the ground. The troll then grabbed Harry by his legs lifted him into the air. The troll roared into Harry's face as he raised his club. Hermione was looking right at Harry when he uttered what he thought would be his final words._

"_Hermione, GO!"_

_But she didn't, couldn't leave him. He risked his life for her and to leave him now would cowardly. She stared at the club that was raised high above the troll head and proceeded to pull out her wand. With all the strength she could muster she cast a spell._

"_Wingardium Leviosa!"_

_The troll swung down his arm and Harry closed his eyes and braced for impact. Only it never came, it was as much a shock to Harry as it was to the troll. From his position, however, Harry could what happened to the club. It was floating. He looked at the club then over at Hermione. Her eyes were fixed on the club that was a good twenty feet in the air. And then, she let go. The club fell back towards the ground but made a detour by crashing into the head of the troll. Harry was released and he scrambled out of the way before the troll fell to the floor unconscious._

_Harry slowly walked over to get his wand from the troll's nose when Professor McGonagall and Professor Quirrell came into the bathroom. McGonagall couldn't even get her words out before stalking over to Harry, whom she saw at dinner, and demanded to know why he didn't return to the dormitory's as instructed. Before he could a word out, Hermione interrupted._

"_It's my fault professor."_

_Both Harry and McGonagall snapped their heads towards the girl. Minerva couldn't believe that this was the girls fault and Harry couldn't believe she was defending him._

"_What do you mean Miss Granger?"_

_This time, however, Harry cut off Hermione._

"_Professor, Hermione wasn't at dinner tonight. That means that she didn't hear about the troll. I knew she was in the bathroom so I tried to get to her to let her know. But by the time I got here the troll was already inside. And well..." Harry trailed off. He simply swept his arm across the room to let her know what had followed his entrance into the bathroom._

"_While very brave of you Mr. Potter, why didn't inform any teachers or prefects about this?"_

"_I tried but the only the prefects were all in the very front of the group and I was at the back. I asked Ron to talk to his brother but I guess he didn't get to him in time," Harry said, lying through his teeth. He had asked Ron to come with him but Ron balked at the idea. He seemed to think that she would be fine and that nothing would happen. He held no feeling of responsibility that he had put her (unknowingly) in danger._

"_Very well Mr. Potter. As for you Miss Granger, why did you miss dinner and the second half of your classes today?"_

_Harry tensed. Hermione now had the power to rat on Ron and make sure he got detention for a long time. He hoped that she wouldn't but wouldn't really blame her if she did._

"_Well if I can be totally honest with you professor, I was feeling homesick."_

_Harry snapped his head towards her with a look of shock. 'She wasn't going to tell.'_

"_I have found it very hard making friends here and today it finally just got to me. If it wasn't for Harry, I would be dead right now." She then looked to Harry and gave him tiny smile. He returned the gesture with a slight nod of his head._

"_I understand that this is very difficult change for you and that adjustment takes time. However, in the future if you feel this way, please come and see me. And as for you not having friends, I believe that is just not true. Now you two head up to the tower and no detours on the way." _

_She ushered the two first years towards the door and would them out of the bathroom and back into the corridor. However, right before they left, Minerva called out to them._

"_Mr. Potter?"_

"_Yes professor?"_

"_Which one of you actually took down this thing?"_

_Harry quickly pointed towards Hermione who was trying to stammer out a response._

"_25 points to you Miss Granger. Not many first years could have taken on a fully grown mountain troll and lived to tell the tale. And as for you Mr. Potter. I award you 25 points as well. You showed true courage coming after her Harry." With that she went back to helping Quirrell figure out how to get the troll out of the castle._

_Harry and Hermione were side by side down the corridor in shock. It wasn't just having survived a troll but the fact that doing so garnered them 50 house points._

"_Can you believe it? We just got 50 house points. I can't wait to tell everyone," Harry said. He was excited that they at least got something out of almost dying. He looked towards Hermione who seemed to be deep in thought. "Earth to Hermione, are you okay?"_

_Hermione looked at Harry with a look of worry in her eyes. She was unsure if she should ask the question she wanted to ask. While a part of her mind told her to just soak up the moment, the inquisitive nature of her mind forced her to ask anyway._

"_Why did you come after me Harry?"_

_Harry stopped in his tracks and looked at the girl with whom he just shared a near-death experience with. He was unsure of how to answer because he didn't understand why the question was being asked._

"_What do you mean 'why did I come after' you? What else was I supposed to do? You didn't know about the troll and it would have been wrong of me to not try and warn you."_

_Hermione was taken aback by his response. However, she charged on with her own thoughts on the matter._

"_I didn't mean to offend you Harry. It's just that you didn't seem too concerned about me earlier when Ron was making fun of me," Hermione finished barely above a whisper._

_Harry looked at her with brand new eyes. What he her heard her say reminded him of his own days in primary school where he would be bullied but no one would to help him. It had been his own inaction earlier in the day that had led him into that bathroom. He had wanted to redeem himself._

"_Look Hermione. I'm sorry I didn't stand up for you earlier today. You're right. It does make me seem..." Harry trailed off trying to think of the right word._

"_Hypocritical," Hermione chimed in._

_Yeah, that. The truth is Hermione I didn't have a lot of friends before I came here. Actually, I didn't have any friends. My cousin would always scare any potential friends by threatening them. I always wished that someone would stand up and help me but no one ever did. I guess I acted like that today. That's kinda why I wanted to make sure you were okay. Ron may have been the one making fun of you but I did nothing to stop him and that makes me just as responsible. Can you forgive me?"_

_Hermione looked at him, trying to gauge whether or not he was being sincere. After a couple of seconds, she responded._

"_Yes Harry, I forgive you. After all you did just save my life."_

"_Great. So how about we start all over?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

_Harry extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Harry Potter. And who might you be?" Harry said in his most gentlemanly voice._

"_Why I am Hermione Granger and I am charmed to meet your acquaintance," Hermione said, giggling at the end._

"_Well Miss Granger, may I escort you back to your dormitory? These corridors aren't safe for a lady to be traveling alone at such an hour."_

"_Why yes you May," Hermione said, wrapping her arms Harry's. They walked back up to the Gryffindor Tower in silence. By the time they got back to their dorms, most people were asleep, so they decided to simply go to sleep. Hermione was on her way up to her dorm when she turned back towards Harry._

"_Thanks again Harry."_

"_Anytime Hermione."_

"_I'm serious Harry. You could have died."_

_Harry couldn't pass up the opportunity._

"_Or worse: I could have been expelled."_

"_Prat," Hermione said, smiling._

"_Know-it-all."_

"_Good night Harry."_

"_Good night."_

_END OF FLASHBACK_

"Hermione? Hermione? HERMIONE!"

"What?"

"Where did you go right now? You kinda just spaced out on me for couple of minutes," Harry said, concerned about his best friend.

"Sorry, I just was thinking about what you said."

"Oh. I see."

Silenced followed. Hermione had gone back to stroking Harry face while Harry just stared at her face. He couldn't help but notice how different she looked. She seemed so tired and anxious. He could tell that she hadn't gone to sleep yet. A quick look at the clock on the mantle let him that it was three in the morning.

"Hermione, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Harry."

"Why are you still awake?"

The question caught Hermione off guard as she didn't expect the question. She looked down at Harry and saw a very worried look on his face.

'Even after all he's been through tonight, he is still concerned about me,' Hermione thought. For some reason she couldn't explain, Harry's question relieved some of the tension inside her body.

"I wanted to stay with you Harry. I didn't think you would mind."

'Oh no." Harry didn't want her to think he was ungrateful. The fact that she stayed with him meant a great deal. He had to clean this quick.

"No Hermione that's not what I meant. I meant why are you still up? You have fallen asleep on the couch or on the chair and have stayed with me? Why haven't you gone to sleep?"

Hermione now understood what he meant. However, this was a question Hermione wasn't 100% sure she wanted to answer. Harry could misinterpret her concern as something motherly and that wasn't what she wanted at all. Hermione stayed silent trying to figure out just what she wanted to say.

"Look Hermione, if it's something you are not comfortable discussing, you don't have to."

Now she was starting to feel worse for making him worry. She finally figured what she wanted say, so cleared her throat and started to speak.

"I was in shock Harry. When I saw you like that, I didn't know what to do. I guess I had a mini breakdown. Anyway, once they placed you on the couch, I just kind of sat next to you and started stroking your face. It was the only thing I could think of at the time."

Harry was listening intently to Hermione's story. If he could be honest with himself, he reacted the same way when he discovered she had been petrified during their second year.

"Anyway, Mr. Weasley got Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey to come here to check you out."

"What did they say, if you don't mind me asking?" Harry said this with a smile on his hoping to ease more tension from Hermione.

She responded with a smile all her own. "No permanent damage although you do have a brand new scar."

"Is it cooler then the Voldemort gave me?"

"I don't know Harry. I never really paid attention to it. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Hermione said, small smirk playing on her lips, "I was freaked out. Ron told me how you always pull through these kind of things and that this would be no different."

"That was kind of him."

"Yes it was." Hermione, in that moment, had forgiven Ron for his earlier transgression. While he was an occasional git, he still had a good heart. "Anyway, Madam Pomfrey needed me to move to check you over and I couldn't move. I couldn't bring myself to leave your side. I mean you were jst laying there and it was all my fault and..." Hermione finally broke down in tears. She had been holding it ever since they came back to the Burrow and now that she knew Harry was okay, she felt no need to hold it in any longer.

"Hey. Hermione stop crying. I'm fine. I'm right here."

"I almost lost you Harry. I don't what I would have done if you died."

"But I didn't. I'm still here. And this wasn't your fault. I chose to move in the way because I couldn't have lived with myself if I let you get hurt."

"Harry, you could have DIED!" Hermione shrieked.

Harry cringed at what she said. He knew it was true but to him it would have been a fair trade. Her life for his. It was a decision he would always make.

"Hey, just calm down. Look I'm still tired and you look rather out of it so let's get some sleep okay?"

Harry could see that the sleep deprivation was taking a toll on her emotions. He knew that with a couple hours sleep, she would be back to her normal self. Hermione nodded her head recognizing that Harry was right, she needed sleep. Hermione got up from the couch and repositioned himself so that he was now facing the back of the couch.

"Good night Hermione."

"Good night Harry."

Harry's eyes were closed for only a couple of seconds before he felt Hermione slide next to him under the blanket.

"Hermione..." Hermione quickly cut him off.

"I need to know this is real Harry. For all I know, I already fell asleep and this is a dream. I need to know that you're really okay."

Harry was about to protest until he heard the desperation in her voice. She needed this and he would give it to her. He just hoped that one of them would get up before the rest of the house did. It was, however at this point that Harry realized something. He wasn't wearing a shirt. He came to this conclusion when he felt Hermione's hands wrapped themselves around his chest and when her front was pressed tightly against his back. He didn't know what to do. Yes, Hermione was his best friend but ever since he arrived at the Burrow, he had also realized that Hermione had become quite attractive. Sure they were close. 'Not as close as we are right now,' he thought but maybe this was taking it a step too far.

"Hermione?" Harry said anxiously. " I need to tell you to do something for me.

Hermione stiffened. 'He's going to ask me leave isn't he? I knew this was too much to ask for.'

"Yeah Harry?"

Harry could hear the fear in her voice. 'This isn't about you right now,' he thought. 'This about her her.'

"Since you're back there, now can you tell me whether or not my new scar is cooler than my old one?"

She laughed.

"Prat."

"Know-it-all."

With that they both fell asleep.


	4. Feeling Good

Molly Weasley was usually an early riser. On average, she had to feed at least five other mouths in the house. With the addition of of Bill, Charlie, Harry and Hermione, she had to wake up even earlier to get everything setup by the time everyone else awoke. Also, given the events of the previous night, she wanted to make a big breakfast for everyone, especially Harry. 'Poor boy,' she thought. 'Why does he never catch a break?' As she made her way down the steps, she looked towards the couch seeing Harry's sleeping form sprawled on the couch. What concerned her was that Harry was now lying down on his back. She decided to nudge him over to his side before she went and started on breakfast. Molly moved around the couch to readjust Harry when she noticed he was not alone. While Harry may have been lying on his back, the sleeping Hermione Granger was laying across his chest.

Molly stepped back from the pair, trying not to make any noise that would wake the sleeping teenagers. She gently lifted the blanket that covered the two and was relieved that they were both clothed (minus Harry's shirt.) She placed the blanket back down and pondered whether to wake them up. While she thought the act was rather inappropriate, she begrudge either of them the security. She had seen how fragile Hermione was the night before and figured that the girl needed reassurance that her savior was safe. Just then she noticed the two of them move slightly, with Harry pulling Hermione tighter against him and Hermione hands wandering across Harry's bare smiled at the pair 'To be young and in love,' she thought remembering her own courtship with Arthur. She left the living quietly and went into the kitchen to start preparing breakfast.

Harry soon awoke after hearing some noise in the kitchen. He was still tired but he couldn't bring himself to go back to sleep. He took in his surrounding and found that nothing had changed from when he had awoken in the middle of the night. He was still on the couch in the living room. His back was still sore though he wasn't in as much pain. Hermione was using his chest as a pillow while her hands were... 'Why are Hermione hands scratching my stomach?' Harry then noticed that he and Hermione had changed positions during the night. She was now using him as a pillow while her legs were wrapped around his with her thigh grazing his... 'Merlin, don't let her feel that.' Harry didn't know what to do. Any movement he made could possibly wake her up and he couldn't let that... 'God, her scratching my stomach feels good.' It was torture and the worst part of the whole thing was her hair. Her stupid, bushy... 'Is that vanilla and strawberry I smell?'

He couldn't help himself.

He took the hand that had just been wrapped around Hermione and started to run his fingers through her hair. 'God it's soft,' her Harry's thoughts as he continued to twirl her hair through his fingers. Hermione, unknowingly, responded by trailing her hand up to to Harry's chest. The trail of her fingers left goosebumps on Harry's skin. Harry, feeling it was unfair that Hermione's hand had so much skin contact, returned his hand to its previous location. However, instead of staying on top of Hermione t-shirt, his hands went underneath.

It's was the strangest thing, touching Hermione like this. He almost felt guilty about. Almost. Her skin was so soft, he couldn't even begin to describe it. His fingers grazed her ribs and feel her breath coming out rapidly against his neck. He then moved his hand to her lower back and started to stroke up and down her spine using his knuckles. That action caused to things to happen. First, Hermione let out a weird kind of sigh that almost sounded like a moan. Next, she started to grind her hips into Harry's thigh. Harry didn't know what was going on. All he knew is that he felt a strange warmth against his thigh. And that was when it happened. He twitched.

Hermione was having a really great dream. It was just her and Harry with each of them wearing very little clothing and it involved a lot of touching. The feeling was indescribable. It was almost as if Harry was actually touching her, making her feel... 'What was that?' Hermione stopped her dry-humping of her dream Harry when she felt something poke her thigh. She slowly opened her eyes to find that she and Harry were in a rather awkward position. Her hand was now gripping his neck, her fingernails digging lightly into his skin. Her lips were dangerously close to his Adam's Apple and her thigh was now pressed tightly against his... 'Oh. My. God. Harry has an erection. He has an erection,' were the only things going through her mind for a full ten seconds. That is until the other part of her brain came into function. 'Harry has an erection and I'm the one who caused it.'

Hermione, now aware of what roused her from her dream, titled her head up to look at Harry. His eyes were closed tight and his body seemed tense. 'Why does Harry look like that? If he's asleep then why is his body...' Then it hit her. 'He's not asleep. He was awake the entire time.' At first, the thought that he was awake made her angry. 'Why didn't he stop me? He must of thought it was funny.' Then taking into account Harry's physical reaction, she came to the more logical conclusion. 'He liked it. He liked what I was doing to him.' Taking note that Harry's hand was under her shirt, she also came to the realization that he had equally participated in the events. Hermione's mind was in a daze. Here she was feeling up on her best friend who had almost died the night before trying to save her. But, he had touched her back which meant that he was angry at her either. She figured that the only way to stop this from getting any weirder was t talk to him about it.

"Harry? You awake?"

"Yeah Hermione, I'm up."

'Oh I'm well aware of how up you are Harry,' she thought, a smiling playing on her lips.

"Well normally I would say good morning, Harry but given recent events I would say that good doesn't quite cover it."

"Well, If you hadn't stopped it would have been great day," Harry replied, smirking at her. It was something that he only did for her and this seemed a pretty appropriate time to break it out.

"So Harry, you thought my actions were great, huh?"

"The Hermione Granger that I know doesn't believe in anything less than great. However, I never thought that you would throw yourself at me like Miss Granger. I thought you were a lady."

"Oh I am Mr. potter. But as I recall, you threw yourself over me last night. Think of this as just me returning the favor."

This was easy for them, the back and forth banter. It was something they had been doing since their first year. The only difference was that now they would throw the occasional flirtatious comment. Harry wondered if this was a good thing to do now, given how they woke up and were currently entangled but he wouldn't back down first. Harry shifted his position so that he could sit up. The unexpected movement caused Hermione to slide over Harry's torso. The end result was Harry leaning against the armrest with Hermione straddling him.

"Well, this is much better," Harry said sarcastically.

"Isn't it?" Hermione replied. And just to prove her point, gently ground her hips against Harry. She was rather excited shut his tight at the contact.

"When get Hermione Granger become so naughty?"

"What do you mean? I've always been this naughty. You and Ron just focus on my bookworm persona."

"While that might be the case, you might want to refrain from doing that again as it is not helping my little problem go away," Harry groaned out. He was staring intensely into Hermione's eyes and was making this whole process harder for him.

"Two thing Harry. First, what you are going through is not a problem. Having an erection is normal for a boy your age," Hermione said all of this with a sickly sweet smile on her face.

"Why thank you for telling me about my erection. How I ever got this far without you telling me about is amazing," Harry replied. Harry was starting to find it weird how easy it was having this kind of conversation with her. But he figured if he couldn't talk about with her, then he couldn't talk about this kind of stuff with anybody.

"Well thank you Harry. And after all, waking up with a full bladder could have far worse complications than you realize."

'So she thinks that is what caused this,' Harry thought to himself. 'Well this is going to be fun.'

"Well sorry to disappoint you Miss Granger but it wasn't a full bladder that caused my reaction."

"Really? Well then what did cause it?"

"Simple. Having a beautiful witch draped over me all night, having her naughty way with my body." Harry smirked at the gobsmacked look on her face.

"Do you really mean that Harry?" Hermione asked, her voice lowered to a whisper.

"Hermione you have felt the proof."

"No not that. The part where you think I'm beautiful. Did you mean that?"

Harry looked back at her stunned. Was she blind? Did she not see how angelic she looked.

"Of course I meant it Hermione. Why do you think I would lie about that?" Harry was curious as to why she needed him to clarify his statement.

"Well it's just no one has ever said that to me before," Hermione said, slowly coming back down to the reality of the situation.

"Well, then I will just have to tell you everyday so you get use to hearing it."

The smile that Hermione gave him could power his patronus, with the way it made him feel. But right now, Harry had to get back on track.

"But Miss Granger I must say that I am quite offended. Most women would give an arm for the chance to arouse the Boy-Who-Lived."

Hermione chuckled at Harry's false bravado before getting back to this weird game that they were playing.

"You are quite right. As a matter of fact, I think that I will sell this story to the prophet."

"Really? And what will the headline read?"

"Hmm, let me think. Oh I got it. 'Muggleborn Girl Molest Wizarding Savior.' How's that sound?"

"I don't know if I would use the word 'molest'?"

"ANd why not Mr. Potter?"

"Well if you used the that particular word, people might assume that the contact was unwanted."

"Well wasn't it?"

Hermione had a weird look in her eye when she asked Harry this question. He was aware that his response could redefine what their relationship was. Unfortunately, before Harry could answer, they heard feet shuffling above their heads.

"I guess everyone is starting to wake up. We might want to move. Merlin knows how Ron will react if he catches like this."

Hermione heard Harry's words and realized that he was right. Ron would make a big scene and none of them needed that. So Hermione reluctantly got off Harry and went to go sit down on the couch opposite Harry.

"Thanks again Harry."

"No problem. I owe you a thank you as well."

"Why?"

"For staying with me. For not leaving my side. It meant a lot," Harry said sincerely. He remembered when she was petrified during their second year and how he spent every moment he could waiting for her to wake up. He even snuck in at night justin case so that she didn't wake up alone.

"It was no problem Harry. Besides, you did for me and you had to do it for close to a month."

Harry froze at Hermione's response. 'How did she know that? I never told that I visited that often.' Harry was about to ask what Hermione was talking about when she cut him off.

"Madam Pomfrey told me last night. I was in shock, as I told you before, and I was refusing to move so that she could treat you. So she leaned into my ear and told about how you would visit me everyday. How you read me books and went over notes from class. She even told me about how you would occasionally sneak in at night."

Harry was somewhat shocked that Madam Pomfrey was aware that he was sneaking in after hours. But what made even weirder is that she never called him on it.

Hermione could tell what Harry was thinking and decided to tell him what Madam Pomfrey told her the night before.

"She thought it was sweet of you Harry. Not wanting tyour best friend to wake up alone. She didn't want to discourage from continuing to come and see me."

Harry made a mental note to write the mediwitch a nice note thanking her for what she had done and for allowing him to see her that year.

"Anyway, while she said you were occasionally stubborn, when it came time for my check-ups, you moved out of the way so she could do her job because you knew she was the only hope of making sure I was better. After she told me that, I calmed down enough to move so she could do her job on you."

Harry didn't know how to respond to that. Luckily, the rest of the Weasley's made their way down the steps. Fred and George were the first to notice Harry.

"Well look..."

"Who has returned..."

"To the land..."

"Of the living," Fred and George said in their usual twin speak.

"Good morning guys," Harry said.

"Gave us a good scare last night Harry..."

"But better you than her...

"After all she is pretty..."

"And smart..."

"And doesn't almost bite every year."

Harry looked Hermione right in the eyes and said, "See, I knew I wasn't the only one who thought you were pretty Hermione."

Hermione blushed lightly while Fred and George just looked between the two of them. Before either of them could say anything else, a red blur rushed passed them and latched onto Harry.

"Good morning to you too Ginny," Harry said, trying to breathe.

"Oh My God Harry I was so worried about you," Ginny sobbed.

"Well I'm okay so there is no need for you to cry okay."

With that said, Harry took his thumbs and gently wiped the tears from Ginny's cheeks. Hermione could barely keep her jealous feelings at bay. She knew Harry was just trying to calm down the young girl but she knew of Ginny's crush and his actions would just strengthen her feelings for him.

"Breakfast is almost ready so if you all are done harassing the poor boy, come in here and help set the table," Molly called from the kitchen.

Fred, George and Ginny left to go help their mother while Harry held Hermione back for a second.

"Hey I know we were interrupted earlier and my guess is that we won't get another moment alone like that we get back to Hogwarts. So if you want to know the answer to that question of yours, ask me again on your birthday and I promise I'll tell you the truth."

Hermione, at first, was confused about what Harry was talking about. Then she realized he was referring to the 'molesting' question.

"You know you could just answer the question right now," Hermione said in response, leaning in close.

Harry smiled. "Now where would be the fun in that."

"Prat."

"Know-it-all."

With that, the two of them walked into the kitchen. However, neither Harry or Hermione noticed during their last exchange that they weren't alone. Watching from the top of the steps was a rather put out looking Ronald Weasley.


	5. Wishes

The remaining days of summer passed with little incident. Harry continued studying with Hermione in hopes of testing into either Arithmancy or Ancient Runes. Every once in awhile Bill would help him out with certain theories that even Hermione couldn't help him with. He was even surprised that Ron had joined in some of the sessions. However, he did start to notice that Ron always took a seat in between him and Hermione. Soon it came for them to gather their supplies for the upcoming school year and before they knew it, they were on the Hogwarts Express to start a new year at Hogwarts.

Harry spent the bulk of his time on the train going over some last minute notes. McGonagall owled him a few days earlier to let him know that Madam Hooch would meet him at the train so that he could fly up to the castle and speak with the teachers prior to the feast. So he wanted to make sure he had reviewed everything before the train arrived at Hogsmeade.

Much sooner than he would have liked, the train had arrived and sure enough, Madam Hooch was waiting for him, broom in both hands. Hermione wished him luck before he and Madam Hooch set off towards the castle. After Harry had gone, Hermione, Ron, Neville and Ginny all piled into the carriage that would take them up to their beloved Hogwarts. Hermione noticed during the ride that Ron was a bit more talkative towards her now that Harry was no longer around. Ron had been rather quiet during the train ride in and Hermione suspected that it was because she had been helping Harry with his last minute review. Now that Harry wasn't around, he seemed to be in a much more talkative mood.

Soon the carriages arrived and the student body was ushered into the Great Hall. Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table when she noticed something odd. Ron had chosen to sit next to her. This was odd as Ron always sat across from her and Harry sat next to her. She also found it odd that Ron more or less demanded that Ginny sit on Hermione's other side. This now left no room for Harry to sit next to her. She wondered if that is was Ron wanted but couldn't think of a reason why.

'Unless..." Hermione started to think about reasons why Ron would want Hermione to be cut off from Harry. It was true that she spent most of the summer with Harry but given what happened, she could be excused for that. 'Could he like me?' This was something Hermione immediately quashed. There was no way Ron could like her and even if he did, he showed it in the most horrid ways. She knew Harry liked her based on his actions. Ron, on the other hand, always found ways to make her feel small. From their first year when he made fun of her for not having friends, 'Something he never apologized for,' she thought darkly. To just this past summer when he called her a freak, Ron never did anything to indicate that what he felt for Hermione was anything more than friendship. 'Maybe he is jealous.' Now this was something Hermione thought made sense. Her and Harry had gotten a lot closer over the summer and maybe Ron felt he was being pushed to the side. 'This would explain why he would occasionally join me and Harry's study sessions and why he made sure Harry couldn't sit next to her.'

During her musings, Professor McGonagall led the first years into the Great Hall for the beginning of the sorting. Dumbledore rose as if to speak when Minerva cut him off to show him that several of the professors had yet to arrive. As they were waiting, Ron spoke to Hermione.

"So Hermione, what do you think the big thing is that is going to happen this year?"

Ron father and two eldest brothers had been hinting that something big was going to happen at Hogwarts this year and it would be a major surprise.

"I honestly don't know Ron but I would have to assume it's dangerous if a Gringotts employee and a dragon handler are aware of it."

Ron nodded his head at her response. Hermione had noticed that Ron was looking nervous about something and she was curious as to what it was.

"Ron, are you okay? You seem distracted about something."

"What? Oh nothing. I'm fine. Promise Hermione."

Hermione could tell that he was lying but she didn't feel like pursuing the issue.

'Why not?' a part her brain asked.

'Why not what?' Hermione said back, wondering why her brain was questioning itself.

'Why aren't you following up on what's wrong with Ron?'

'Why should I?' She was wondering why this conversation was happening when her brain gave her the answer.

'If he was Harry, would you be giving up so easily?'

Hermione stopped at thought. Why wasn't she as concerned about Ron than she was about Harry. Ron had been her friend for about as long as Harry had but she didn't feel as close to him as she did to Harry.

'Well Harry has done more for me then Ron ever has. As a matter of fact, all Ron has ever done is make fun of me until he needed help with his homework.'

'So then why did you ask him if something was wrong in the first place?'

'Because he is my friend.'

'Then why didn't you follow up and push him into answering you like you would with Harry?'

'Well, me and Harry trust each other. We have been through so much together that I know Harry would understand why I was asking.'

'So what you're saying is that you don't trust Ron?'

Hermione froze at that thought. She and Ron had been through alot together as well but it was always involved Harry as well. Hermione could think of plenty of things that her and Harry had been through that in no way involved Ron. The truth hit her in that moment.

'No. I don't trust Ron the way I do Harry.'

'So then is he even really our friend?'

Hermione was contemplating that thought. Whenever she and Ron would have a row, Harry would go to each of them to smooth things out. Harry hated when his two best friends fought and why try anything to get them to stop fighting. But if Harry and Ron ever had a fight, Hermione would side with Harry every time. There was no contest between them. Harry was important to her and Ron wasn't.

'No, I guess we aren't really friends.'

This was a harsh realization for Hermione. She wanted to believe they were friends but in reality, she tolerated all of Ron's antics for Harry's sake. If Harry told her tomorrow that he no longer wanted to be friends with Ron, she didn't think she would do anything to dissuade him from that thought. With Ron out of the picture, it would just be her and Harry.

That brought a whole new set of visions into Hermione's head. She could imagine it. The two them in front of the fireplace studying. She would be sitting on the couch while sat on the florr. While in one hand, Hermione Hermione would be reading a book, her other hand would be massaging Harry's scalp. Harry would be doing something very similar except his other hand would be gently stroking the inside of her thigh. The higher his hand went, the tighter her grip would be on his head would be. Higher and higher. Tighter and tighter.

"Hermione, are you okay?"

Hermione was broken out of her daydream by Ginny's question.

"Yeah I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You kind of spaced out there for a second."

Hermione was embarrassed that she had been caught fantasizing but was relieved that she hadn't done anything that revealed what it had been about.

"What is taking so long?" Ron asked, starting to become even hungrier.

"They're probably waiting on Professors Vector and Babbling to come down."

As if on cue, the two professors walked into the Great Hall followed by Harry Potter. The sight of the young wizard caused her Hermione to smile, which didn't go unnoticed by Ron. Hermione indicated to Harry that he would have to sit on the other side of the table if they wanted to talk. As soon as Harry sat down, Hermione started in on him.

"Well. How did it go?" Hermione asked impatiently.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that you'll be seeing me in your arithmancy class," Harry said, with only a half smile.

Hermione understood his statement. He had only done well enough to get into the one class but not the other. While she was happy that they would spend more time together, she was really hoping that he could have made it into both classes. Hermione also realized that Ron caught the meaning of Harry's statement and was curious as to why Ron had a slight smirk on his face. His reaction all but confirmed her earlier suspicions about Ron's jealousy towards Harry. While she was upset with Ron, she realized that she hadn't said anything to Harry yet.

"Well that's great Harry. I'm telling you, Arithmancy is wonderful."

"Thanks Hermione. I really appreciate that."

"No problem Harry. I just really wished you had gotten into Ancient Runes as well.."

"Do you mean that Hermione?"

Hermione was thrown off by Harry's question.

"Of course I meant it. Why are asking?"

"No reason."

"Harry?"

"Yes Dear?"

"Do you have something else you want to tell me?" Hermione was starting to get excited. She had a feeling Harry was holding something back and she had a feeling she knew what it was.

"Okay Hermione you got. I also got into Ancient Runes. You know, I wanted it to be a surprise but no wouldn't let me, would you."

Hermione let out a small squeal of happiness at the fact that she and Harry were going to spend even more time together. She didn't even notice the small scowl coming from Ron. Before she could ask any more questions, Dumbledore stood and started to speak.

The Gryffindor common was abuzz that night. The revelation that they were bringing back the TriWizard Tournament was something that every student was talking about. The twins were already trying to think of ways to enter into the tournament. Heck they even went to Harry and Ron to see if they wanted to enter themselves. While seemed to mull the idea over, Harry was quick to put an end to such thoughts.

"No thanks fellas. I'm good."

"Are you sure, little Harry?" Fred said.

"Think about it. 'Eternal glory.' Sounds kinda neat if you ask me," George followed.

Harry thought that a quick history lesson was in order so that he wouldn't be asked this anymore.

"Fred, who was the last person to win the TriWizard Tournament?"

Harry's question was met with silence.

"When was the last tournament held?"

Again silence.

"What school last held the tournament."

Harry looked around to find that no one could answer any of his questions. Harry then started on his next round of questions.

"Fred, on what date was Lord Voldemort defeated?"

Fred flinched at the name but answered regardless. "He was defeated on October 31st, 1981."

"George, where was Voldemort defeated?"

George replied, "Godric's Hollow."

"Hermione, the sole survivor of the attack was given a nickname. What is it?"

"Hermione gulped before answering the question. "The Boy-Who-Lived."

"And finally, what is that boy's real name?"

Hermione spoke again, "Harry Potter."

Harry looked around before speaking again.

"Eternal glory," Harry said, moving the hair that was in front of his forehead to the side, revealing his scar. "I've already got that. And trust me when I say it came at much to high a cost."

"What do you mean?"

The entire common room looked towards Ron. No one could believed he had just asked such a stupid question.

Harry just shrugged and got off the couch.

"I'm going to sleep."

The next few weeks passed by with students still talking about the tournament. Harr was actually doing well in his two new classes, thanks in large part to Hermione. He had found that he was spending less time with Ron nowadays but it seemed as if Ron really didn't care. Ron had been spending large amounts of time with his brothers trying to find a way into bypassing the 'Under 17' rule. When Harry questioned them about Ron's involvement, they revealed that Ron had a crush on a girl and was hoping that becoming TriWizard Champion would make him look better in the young girl's eyes. Harry now understood why Ron was so hell bent on finding a way into that tournament.

On a particularly warm September afternoon, HArry, Ron and Hermione were just finishing lunch and on their way to their last class of the day: Double Charms. While Hermione was urging Harry to hurry up and eat so that they wouldn't be late for class, Harry pulled a piece of paper from his bag and handed it to Hermione.

"Well go on and read it," Harry said, a smile playing on his face.

Hermione unfolded the piece of paper and read the note.

_This is a pass for Harry Potter and Hermione Granger that excuses them from their Double Charms on this afternoon, September the 19th._

_Signed,_

_Filius Flitwick_

Hermione looked up at Harry and was curious as to how he had gotten them an excuse from class. Harry answered her question before she was able to ask.

"I wanted to show you something but I didn't want to do it where everyone could see. I went to Flitwick to ask for permission to get out of class today and when I showed him why, he was all for it."

"But why Harry?"

"What? Did you think I would forget my favorite girls birthday?"

Hermione beamed at Harry.

'He remembered and he thought up a gift well ahead of time.' Hermione couldn't believe how lucky she was. But now she was curious as to what Harry was going to be showing her.

"Meet me at the Entrance and we'll head down to the lake from there."

Hermione got up and practically sprinted to the entrance. She couldn't for Harry to show up and take her to the lake.

Harry smiled when he saw how excited Hermione was and he was happy that he was able to cause that kind of response. After she had left the Great Hall, he turned his attentions to Ron.

"You forgot, didn't you?"

"You could have reminded me Harry," Ron spat out. He was feeling bitter that Harry had planned something wonderful for Hermione and didn't even let him in on it. He was also angry because while he was to be stuck in Double Charms, Harry and Hermione would be all alone by the lake.

"It's not my job to remind you when your friends birthday is coming up."

"You still should have told me," Ron replied bitterness still in his voice.

Harry finished his juice and got up to leave. "On your bed is a book. It's one of Hermione's favorites. All you have to do is wrap it." And with that, Harry left.

Ron was glaring daggers at Harry's back. Not only had he failed to remind him of Hermione's birthday but he had the audacity to buy him a gift to give to her as if he was an idiot. But as much as he hated it, he had nothing else. He would swallow his pride and accept Harry's gift, hoping that Fred and George's plan would allow him to become champion and win over Hermione.


	6. The Lion's Share

Harry eventually caught up with Hermione and the two walked down towards the lake. Hermione was very eager to find out what her present was but another question weighed heavily on her mind.

"Harry?"

"Yes Hermione?"

"What exactly did you show Professor Flitwick that convinced him to let us out of class?"

"Oh nothing," said Harry, pretending to look aloof. "Just a simple spell."

"Just a simple spell, huh?" Hermione replied, questioning Harry's simplistic answer.

"Yes Hermione just a simple spell."

The two continued their walk in silence until Harry stopped along the shores of the lake.

"Hermione?"

The young witch turned her head towards her best friend, waiting for his question.

"Are you happy that I remembered your birthday?"

Hermione was baffled by the question.

"Of course I'm happy that you remembered my birthday. Why wouldn't I be?"

"No reason. I just wanted to know whether or not you were happy."

Hermione raised her hand to Harry's cheek and turned his head so that they were staring into each others eyes.

"Yes Harry. You have made me very happy today." Hermione then leaned forward and placed a light kiss on his cheek. She couldn't help but giggle at the shocked look plastered on his face. After a few seconds, Harry came back to his senses and started to speak.

"Well I'm glad I made you happy because knowing that you are happy makes me happy. And when I get really happy, I can do things like this." Without another word, Harry withdrew his wand and pointed it towards the center of the lake.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A brilliant silver stag burst forth from the tip of Harry's wand and galloped across the lake. Hermione was astounded by how beautiful the creature looked. When Harry called it forth at the end of the previous school year, she had been kind of distracted watching her past self almost die. But now, she could see how impressive his patronus really was.

After about a minute, Harry allowed his stag to dissipate and then he turned back towards Hermione.

"That was brilliant Harry."

"Those were the exact words that Flitwick said. Mind you he fell off his stack of books at his desk when I cast the spell but still."

Hermione laughed at the thought but wasn't quite sure where all this was going.

"So Harry, why did you bring me all the way out here to show me that? I already knew that you could cast the patronus."

"I know you know that I can cast a patronus. We are here to teach you how to conjure a patronus. And since Double Charms was our last class for the day, we have all afternoon to learn." Harry finished his statement with a smile due to the fact that Hermione's smile had gotten bigger and bigger as he went on.

To say that Hermione was excited would have been a gross understatement. Her best friend in the whole world was going to teach her a very difficult spell that he had mastered not even four months ago and to top it all off, they were going to do so by the lake on a beautiful fall afternoon. Harry started things off by simply teaching Hermione how to pronounce the spell. That task took less than a minute. The next part was much trickier.

"Alright Hermione, the next part is going the hardest part. You have to think of a happy memory. Something that could bring a smile to your face even when you were at your saddest. Take a while to think about and then we will try it out."

Hermione didn't take too long to figure out a memory. It was the day she found out she was a witch. So many of the weird things that had been happening to her had finally made sense. In addition, she found she would be going to the best magical school in all of the United Kingdom where she learn new things and make friends.

"I'm ready Harry."

"All right. If you're sure, let's try it out."

Harry stood behind Hermione while he watched her get ready. Hermione took a big breath, raised her wand and spoke the spell.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A small wisp of silver left the tip of Hermione's wand but fizzled out after ten seconds.

"That was a good start Hermione. If you don't mind me asking, what did you think about?"

"When I found out I was a witch."

"I see." Harry said, scratching the back of his head.

"And what does that mean, Harry?" Hermione spoke back, a bit harsher than she meant it.

"Nothing. Calm down Hermione. You are having the same problem Remus said I was having when he taught me this last year. While he said my memories were good, they weren't powerful enough. The memory has to be something that could pull you out of the darkest depression. Something so strong that enough thinking of it briefly would bring a big smile to your face. Let's just relax and we'll try again when you think of another memory okay."

Hermione nodded her head in the affirmative. They spent the next half hour trying out different memories to varying levels of success. By the end the end of that first hour, Hermione was able to hold a shield for a full minute. While Harry was happy with her progress, Hermione was a little put out. She wanted a corporeal patronus and she would not rest until she got one.

"Why isn't this working? I am thinking happy thoughts and yet I can't get a stupid animal out of this stupid wand." Harry could see that Hermione was getting quite frustrated and tried his best to calm her down.

"Hermione, you're doing brilliant. It took me weeks to get that far and you have done it in little more than 90 minutes. Be proud of that." Harry hoped that his words would have a calming effect on the young witch but he was sadly mistaken.

"Harry I get what you are trying to say but I really wanted to be able to create a corporeal one. I mean it comes so easy for you..." Hermione looked up and saw Harry's facial expression change from calm to irritated. She quickly back-peddled. "I'm sorry Harry. I didn't mean it like that, I swear. It's just..." Harry held up his hand to cut off her rant.

"Calm down Hermione, I know what you meant. Everything comes easy to you and the fact that this doesn't is making you frustrated. But if you will recall, it took almost 50 dementors coming to kill us that allowed me to create a corporeal one. Be thankful that you don't have to learn in such harsh conditions."

Hermione seemed thoughtful for a second before yelling out, "That's it Harry."

"What's it Hermione?" Harry was confused by her sudden outburst.

"What were you thinking of when you cast the patronus that night?"

Harry wasn't expecting that question and honestly didn't know how to answer it. He knew that he could do it because he had already seen himself do it earlier that night. But as for his actual thoughts, he wasn't really sure.

"Hermione, I'm not really sure what I was thinking. That entire night was one big blur. The only thing I was thinking of was to keep you and Sirius safe. I mean Sirius is my godfather and you're...you. I couldn't let anything happen to you so I just cast the spell and what happened happened...again, I think."

Hermione listened intently to Harry's answer and was blushed lightly when Harry couldn't put into words what he felt for her. She then realized what Harry was saying and thought she may have found a way to create her own corporeal patronus.

"So Harry, if what you say is true then your only thought was to keep me and Sirius safe." Harry nodded at Hermione's assessment. "But you had only just found out about Sirius's innocence so how could have truly wished for him to be safe when you barely knew him." Harry nodded his head again, albeit slower than before. He wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"So, since you barely knew Sirius at that time, your mind must have focused on one of the two remaining individuals at the edge of that pond. You are not an egotistical man so I doubt you were that concerned with yourself. As such, you must have focused all your attention on me. Which means Harry that the thought of keeping me safe is what drove you to cast such a powerful charm." Harry hadn't noticed that Hermione had been moving closer to him during her mini rant. As such, by the time she was finished with her theory, they were standing only inches apart.

"Don't you think you are standing kind of close Hermione," Harry whispered.

"Nope."

They stared into each others eyes for a minute before Hermione backed away slowly.

"Harry?"

"Yes Hermione."

"It's my birthday."

"I'm aware."

"So was the contact unwanted?" Hermione asked, her back to Harry.

Harry was puzzled by the question at first. Then, after about of minute of thinking, Harry realized what Hermione was asking. Harry, using all of his Gryffindor courage, walked up behind Hermione, wrapping his arms around her waist. He leaned in close and whispered a single word into her ear.

"No."

Hermione turned her head slightly to stare into Harry's eyes. Once she determined he was telling the truth, she turned back towards the lake and raised her wand.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A bright light erupted from the tip of Hermione's wand. At first, it seemed like just another shield, but the light soon took shape. Harry and Hermione both stared out into the middle of the lake and saw a silver otter hovering over the middle of the lake looking back at the two teens. Soon, the otter disappeared. Hermione turned in Harry's arm and planted a kiss against his cheek.

"Thank you Harry," she whispered, inchesfrom his lips.

"Anytime."

The two soon left the lake to rejoin Ron for dinner and learn what they had missed that day in class.

The days and weeks passed and life was rather simple for the first time in Harry's life. He found he liked Arithmancy more than Ancient Runes, as Hermione had correctly predicted. He also found himself enjoying Defense Against the Dark Arts more so than he had the year previous. He was quite proud of the fact that he had been the only one to be able to throw off the Imperious curse. He also gained great respect for Professor Mooney after an incident with Draco led the former auror to turn the blonde git into a ferret.

However, Harry spirits took a turn for the worse in the days preceding Halloween. Most of the students didn't notice Harry's change in demeanor due to the fact that the other schools competing in the TriWizard Tournament would be arriving by the end of the week. Hermione tried to get Harry to talk about it but each attempt was met resistance. Hermione became even more curious about Harry's behavior when she noticed he had stayed later in both Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures, to talk to Professor Sprout and Harid, respectfully. However, when she questioned him about this, she was met with silence. His only words were that he was okay and that Halloween was almost over so she wouldn't have to worry for long.

All too soon it was Halloween night. The Great Hall was decorated from floor to ceiling in anticipation for their guests. However, Hermione couldn't have cared less. Harry had been reclusive all day and barely said a word in any of the classes they shared. She became even more concerned when she couldn't spot Harry during the feast to welcome the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Hermione barely paid attention to anything that the Headmaster said. All she caught was "glory," "one champion," "tasks," and "Goblet of Fire."

After the feast was over, Hermione rushed back to Gryffindor Tower in hopes of catching Harry. However, she couldn't find him and no one could say where he was. She became angry at the boy for not seeing that she only wanted to help him. She just wanted him to be happy. Hermione parked herself on the couch in the common room in hopes that she would catch Harry at some point. Ron had offered to stay with her but she declined his offer. Hermione noticed that Ron seemed angered by her answer but in the end she only cared about talking to Harry. However, despite her best attempts, she fell asleep before Harry re-entered the dormitory.

And that is how Harry found when he walked into the Tower a little after 2 o'clock in the morning. Instead of waking her, Harry simply pulled a blanket over her sleeping form and kissed her on her forehead. Harry then walked up to his dorm when he was assaulted by a sound that he had never heard in his dorm before: silence. Harry was curious as to why there was no snoring when Harry heard Ron's voice in the darkness.

"Where have you been, mate?" Ron said, a slight edge in his voice.

"Out."

"Where?"

"Why is that any of your concern?"

"Because you could have cost us house points, that's why."

"Two things, Ron. First, the House Cup was cancelled this year because of the tournament. Second, I had permission from McGonagall to be out so I wouldn't have lost points anyway."

Harry didn't like the way Ron was questioning him. Their friendship had been strained for a while now and Harry was starting to get sick of Ron constantly looking at him suspiciously. They were friends but Ron's actions were starting to make Harry doubt whether they should continue being friends.

"Did you find a way to enter your name into the Goblet?"

"What goblet?"

"Don't play stupid Harry. The Goblet of Fire that determines the TriWizard champions. Did you find a way past Dumbledore's spells?"

"Again, two things Ron. First, I wasn't at dinner tonight so I have no idea what the hell you are talking about. And second, I have no interest in this stupid tournament. I just want a normal year where I do my homework, not have my DADA teacher try to kill me and maybe go on dates with girls."

Ron perked up at that last statement. Ron had wondered what happened on Hermione's birthday between the two. They seemed even closer than they were before and Harry's statement seemed to indicate that he was considering on asking Hermione out. Ron started to worry even more when he realized that there was a Hogsmeade trip coming up that weekend. He was curious as to whether Harry asked Hermione to go out with him on a date.

"When you say girls, who do you mean?"

"You know, girls. The opposite of boys. A certain something is missing from between their legs."

"You know what I mean Harry. Is there any girl that you are thinking about asking out?"

Harry looked back towards Ron's bed, trying to figure out why his friend was asking so many questions. Harry had thought that Ron might have a crush on Hermione but he never seemed to make a move. But then again, Harry had been spending a large amount of time with Hermione and Ron may have felt uncomfortable asking in front of him. Harry decided that he would give Ron this one chance to tell him of his feelings for their mutual best friend.

"Ron, in this about Hermione?"

Ron didn't answer Harry. Frankly, he never thought that Harry would ask him directly. But now that Harry had asked, Ron wasn't sure what to say. If he admitted he had feeling for Hermione, would Harry back down and let him have a chance or would he challenge Ron for Hermione's heart. Ron hoped for the former as he knew he didn't stand a chance if Harry actually tried to win over Hermione. His other option was to deny it to Harry's face and work behind his back to get Hermione. Maybe some private study sessions in classes that Harry was already good at, this way he wouldn't be needed at the study sessions. With his decision made up, Ron spoke to his "best" friend.

"No Harry, I don't have feelings for Hermione. She's like a sister to me. And I bet it's the same for her. It's always been that way."

While Harry couldn't see Ron, he knew he was lying. He simply asked Ron if his questions were about Hermione and any potential feelings Harry may have had. Harry, at no point asked Ron about his feelings for Hermione; Ron gave those up unasked. However, he had said no so Harry had no problems telling Ron the truth.

"I'm glad you feel that way Ron because if I can be honest, I think I may have feelings for Hermione. I was planning to ask her to Hogsmeade this weekend and I'm glad that you won't have a problem with it." With that said, Harry climbed into his bed and went to sleep. Ron, however, was fuming at the thought of Harry wooing Hermione on a date. He realized that he may have just made the biggest mistake in his young life.

The following morning was very interesting. Hermione was rather angry at Harry's behavior the previous and spent the entire morning ignoring him. She felt that it was only fair since he spent the previous day ignoring her. He finally got back back on her good side when he informed her that he would tell her where he was the previous day after dinner. Together, the two of them watched various students enter the tournament. They witnessed Cedric Diggory, the only person to beat Harry in quidditch, enter into the tournament as well as fellow Gryffindor Angelina Johnson. They also witness Victor Krum, international quidditch star, of Durmstrang and Fleur Delacour, a part-veela witch, of Beauxbatons enter as well. Harry and Hermione seemed to be the only two who were unaffected by the presence of either teenager.

The best part of the day came when the Weasley brothers attempted to fool the Goblet by drinking an aging potion. Ron thought that Hermione would think he was clever and brave for trying to enter in such a way. He was disappointed when she told the trio that something so simple wouldn't be able to trick a spell that Dumbledore himself cast. Undeterred, the brothers drank their potions and crossed the line. At first everything seemed perfect. Ron looked back towards Hermione with a smile and a thumbs up. Soon, however, the brothers were thrown back by the spell and rapidly aged, turning their hair white and growing equally long white beards. While Fred and George were fighting with each other over whose fault it was that their plan had failed, Ron was crushed to see Hermione laughing at him along with Harry. He quickly got to his feet and ran out of the Great Hall.

The rest of the day passed smoothly and it was finally time to name the champions. Hermione was eager for dinner to be over so Harry could tell her what he had done the night before.

"Hermione, you really need to calm down. What I have to tell you isn't that big a deal," Harry said, a smile playing at his lips. He found it cute how anxious Hermione was.

"Says you. And if it isn't that big a deal then tell me now." When Harry didn't respond, Hermione simply nodded her head. "That's what I thought."

Soon thereafter, Albus Dumbledore stood before the gather student body and prepared to call the champions. Soon, the fire inside the Goblet turned blue and spat out a piece of paper that Dumbledore caught in his hands.

"The Beauxbatons champion is...Fleur Delacour." There was a loud applause coming from Ravenclaw table where the Beauxbaton students were sitting. The young witch was escorted into an antechamber found in the rear of the Great Hall.

The Goblet changed colors again and spat out the next champion. "The Hogwarts champion is...Cedric Diggory." The entire Hufflepuff house rose and gave their housemate a standing ovation. Cedric, slightly embarrassed, soon left for the antechamber.

The final name came out of the Goblet, and to no one's surprise, Victor Krum was named the champion of Durmstrang.

Harry was relieved that it was over. Harry had been nervous that something was going to happen and he would somehow be named Hogwarts champion. After Cedric had been chosen, Harry gave a deep sigh of relief. Hermione, noticing Harry's reaction, was curious as to why Harry even felt nervous.

"Harry, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Hermione. I was just a little nervous about tonight."

Ron, overhearing the conversation couldn't help but butt-in.

"Why would you be nervous, Harry? You said last night that you didn't want to be in this tournament."

Harry, angry at Ron for eavesdropping into his conversation, turned towards his friends and answered his question.

"Simple, Ron. Just because I don't want to be in this tournament doesn't mean someone couldn't have found a way to put me in this tournament. Remember Dobby and all the hell he put me through." Harry noticed Hermione flinched slightly when the tournament came up. "Hermione, is there something you wanted to ask me?"

Hermione winced at the icy way in which Harry asked the question.

"Well, it's just that I thought you had entered yourself in the tournament."

Harry hadn't been expecting that. Harry was adamant that he wanted nothing to do with the tournament, so he was a little hurt when Hermione believed he had entered himself. Before Harry could say anything, Hermione jumped right back in.

"Harry, I know you said you wanted nothing to do this but I thought that you may have been protesting a bit too much. And remember during the opening feast when you pretended that you only got into Arithmancy. I just thought that maybe you were trying to be a bit like your dad and maybe pull a big prank on the school and what better way to do that than to find a way into the tournament. Sorry if I offended you Harry. I didn't mean anything by it"

Harry, while still a little upset, couldn't fault Hermione's logic. He was out late the previous night and he wasn't exactly forthcoming with what he did the night before. BUt he wanted to let her know that this tournament was the last thing on his mind.

"It's okay Hermione, I understand. I have been a bit distant lately and with what happened yesterday, I can see where you are coming from. But like I said to Ron Iast night, just want to get good grades and not have my DADA teacher try and kill me."

"Don't forget dating pretty girls, Harry."

Harry turned towards Ron and glared at him. Hermione, on the other hand, started to laugh.

"Well Harry. Wait till Witches' Weekly gets their hands on that story. 'The Boy-Who-Lived Wishes to Become Boy-Who-Loves.' You have to admit it has a great ring to it." The look on Harry's face after hearing the mock headline was priceless. Harry, however, would not be deterred.

"I thought we already agreed on my first big headline during the summer," Harry responded, smirking at his friend.

"Well now things have changed. Let's have it Harry. What are the things you are looking for in your dream woman?" While Hermione might have been playing, a part of her had a vested interest in his answer.

Harry looked his best friend in the eyes and gave her the list of things he looks for in a girl.

"Well as Ron stated earlier, she has to be pretty as the Boy-Who-Lived can't be seen with someone ugly. She has to be wealthy pure-blood and has to be shorter than me because I will not be made to look like a midget, Harry stated sarcastically.

"Harry, I was being serious."

"So was I Hermione."

Harry then sensed that Hermione truly wanted to know what he looked for in a girl and decided that she, of all people, should know the truth.

"I need a girl who is smart. I have a tendency to do things without thinking and I need someone who can help me curb those thoughts. She has to be compassionate and confident in herself. I need her to be able to challenge me. I don't want a doormat. I want someone who will call on my crap but does so out of care and not because they want to be proven right. And most importantly, their hair has to be as unmanageable as mine." Harry smiled as he said the last one and he noticed that Hermione was smiling too.

"Well, that is a long list Harry. I hope you find her."

"What makes you think that I already haven't?"

"Well, if you did find such a girl, I would expect that you would have asked her out already."

"Maybe I was waiting for the right time. Like, let's say, a Hogsmeade weekend."

"Well then Harry, you better hurry up and ask her. Who knows whether or not someone might ask her before you get the chance." And there it was. Hermione had just challenged Harry to ask her out and Harry, being a Gryffindor, was not about to back down. Harry opened his mouth to respond when he noticed a change in Hermione. She had just been smiling but in a split second, her smile was gone and a frown was on her face.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

"The Goblet, Harry," Hermione responded.

"What about it?"

"It just turned blue again."

Upon hearing this, Harry slowly turned his head back towards the Goblet. And sure enough the fire had turned blue again. A second later, a piece of paper flew into the air. Everyone in the hall was quiet as this wasn't supposed to happen. Dumbledore stood completely still as the piece of paper fell to the floor.

'No! Not again' Harry screamed in his head. This couldn't be happening. This shouldn't be happening. He didn't go anywhere near the goblet. Fear was rising in Harry as he watched Dumbledore slowly pick up the piece of paper. He knew what it said before Dumbledore spoke.

"Harry Potter."


	7. A Snake In The Lion's Den

The whole world stood still for Harry Potter. Dumbledore had just called his name as the final participant for the TriWizard tournament. But that couldn't be possible. He wasn't even around for the introduction of the stupid goblet. Harry started to glance around and noticed that everyone was staring at him. He didn't know what to do. He was aware that he should probably get up and start heading towards the rear of the hall but his feet wouldn't move. It wasn't until someone touched his shoulder that his mind returned to reality.

"You have to go Harry," Hermione said, her voice calm. "You need to meet up with the other champions."

Her sentence crushed Harry. He was a champion now. For the remainder of the year, the entire school (including students from the two other schools) would watching him. He slowly got to his feet and started walking towards the antechamber.

During his walk, Harry took the time to study the faces of some of his classmates. He noticed first and foremost that Hermione looked worried. She seemed to be concerned for his well being. But her eyes told him that it was more about his mental health than his physical health. The two of them could always speak to each other without saying a word and Harry could see that Hermione was worried that he would freak out. And he was concerned that he might prove her right.

He then turned to look at Ron, whose face was etched in anger. Harry could sense that Ron wanted to be champion or at the very least didn't want Harry to be champion. He could tell Ron thought he was lying when he said that he didn't enter himself in the tournament and now Ron had the proof to match his theories.

The remainder of the Gryffindor table seemed too shocked to even come up with any response. Harry then turned his head towards the Hufflepuff table where he was met with a scornful glare from every member of the house. He understood, somewhat, what they were feeling. The Hogwarts champion was chosen from their house and now he would have to share the glory with the ever-famous Harry Potter. Harry was met with similar looks from the remaining tables as well. While he expected the looks from Slytherin, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, it was the looks from the Ravenclaws that really upset him. They were supposed to be the house of wisdom and yet they seemed to believe right off the bat that he was guilty. Harry realized in that moment that he had no allies, save Hermione. From this point forward, he was all alone.

Upon his entrance into the antechamber, he heard a lot of yelling. Apparently the other schools were unhappy that Hogwarts had two champions and felt that Dumbledore had cheated to allow his school the best chance at winning. Harry felt sorry for Dumbledore that he had to deal with all of this. After Dumbledore begged them to be quiet, he turned towards Harry to ask him some questions.

"Harry, did you enter your name in that cup?" Harry shook his head no. "Did you ask an older student to enter your name for you?" Harry stared at the headmaster for a few seconds before answering.

"You can do that? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the age line? From what I was told, I thought you could only enter your own name."

"Clearly the boy is lying." This time, it was Igor Karkaroff who spoke. Harry, however, had no intentions of being called a liar. He hadn't entered his name into that goblet and he would be damned if any anyone said otherwise.

"FUCK YOU!" Dumbledore was taken aback by Harry's language. He understood that the boy was frustrated but he didn't think such language was necessary.

"Harry, I need you to calm down," Dumbledore spoke in his best grandfatherly voice. Unfortunately, Harry wasn't having any of it.

"No, I will not calm down. I didn't enter my name in that stupid goblet. Hell, I wasn't even here during dinner when you brought out the stupid thing." Dumbledore knew Harry was telling the truth. He noticed that the young man didn't attend lunch or dinner the day before and was slightly worried about his well being. However, he spoke with Minerva later that day, who explained why Harry was in such a sour mood. Dumbledore suspected as much but he was happy that Minerva had clarified it for him. "And now I have to compete in a tournament that I didn't enter."

"Look Harry, I know how..."

"No, you don't know how how I feel," Harry said, cutting off his headmaster. "I'm not competing. I don't care what happens. I am not playing in this stupid tournament."

"I'm afraid that is not an option Mr. Potter."

Harry turned his to look at the man who had just spoken. He remembered the man's name as Bartemius Crouch.

"Why not?"

"Because the goblet acts as a magical contract. The second your name came out, you became bound to this fate."

"But I didn't enter my name. Dumbledore just said that anyone 17 or older could have entered my name. How is that fair?" Harry was really starting to lose his temper.

"It isn't but it is what must happen. Now if the four of you will...Mr. Potter, please come back here." But Harry had heard enough. Nobody was listening to him. And if they were listening, then they were ignoring his requests. He left the antechamber to find that the Great Hall was empty except for Professor McGonagall. She could see the rage in Harry's eyes and decided it would be best to let him walk off his anger.

She knew he was out last night and knew the reason why. But in the back of her mind, she couldn't ignore the possibility. Right before Harry walked out of the hall, she asked him a single question.

"Did you, Mr. Potter?"

Harry stopped and turned towards his head of house.

"No."

"Okay then. Don't be out too late Mr. Potter." With that, Harry turned right back around and stormed off into the castle.

Harry didn't know where he was going. He just wanted to walk off all this anger before he went back to his dorm. He didn't want to lash out at anybody that didn't deserve it. Harry continued walk through the castle, climbing stairs, making twists and turns around different corridors. By the time Harry stopped, he didn't know where he was. The only identifiable thing around was a mural of a man trying to teach trolls how to dance.

Harry started to pace back and forth, trying to make sense of everything but the only thing that came to his mind was how someone entered him into this tournament.

'Merlin, I just want to break something,' Harry thought. He wanted a way to release all this frustration but he didn't have a safe place to do it. Harry continued pacing until he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It was a small door that hadn't been there before. 'Where did that come from?' Harry, his curiosity getting the better of him, opened the the door.

What Harry found inside were rows of porcelain china and glassware. Harry was confused by this until he noticed the cricket bat laying right next to the door. It seems the room gave him a way to release his frustrations. After twenty minutes smashing a never ending supply of dishes, Harry stopped and dropped to the floor, placing his head in his hands.

'How am I gonna get through this?' Harry was minutes away from breaking down in this room. When he lifted his head back up, he noticed that all the broken china was gone. Now, there wa a small desk and chair in the center of the room. Laying on the desk was a pad of paper and a pen. 'Why not parchment and a quill,' Harry wondered. Regardless, the room was telling him that he needed to think of a plan.

Harry started to rack his brain with ideas but nothing was forthcoming. He couldn't figure out what he was supposed to do. He started going over the events that occurred in the antechamber hours before but nothing caught on in his head.

"'...the boy is lying.' No that doesn't work. '...bound to its fate' is just stupid. '...magical contract.' Wait a second." Harry stopped in his tracks when he remembered that. "The goblet is a magical contract." Harry raced over to the table and jotted down his first idea.

"1. Get in contact with Bill to see if the goblins can look over the TriWizard contract."

Harry remembered Bill saying over the summer that no one was better when it came to contract loopholes than the goblins. Harry's next idea came only minutes after the first. Since he was going to be using Bill as a possible asset, why not others.

"2. Get in contact with Remus and Sirius."

Harry realized that Remus and Sirius were very powerful wizards and hoped that maybe they could give him some tips on how to survive the upcoming tasks. Harry also realized the potential this room had. Every time he needed something, the room provided it for him. Harry quickly understood that this room could be perfect for training him in regards to the upcoming tasks.

"3. Use this room to study and train for the tournament."

Harry decided that he should getting to work on the first two parts of his plan that very night. Harry quickly wrote a letter to Bill, knowing that he was staying in England for the duration of the tournament. He hoped that Bill would put in a good word for him with the goblins and that would hopefully lead them to help him. He wrote down everything he knew about the tournament as well as the conversations he had with Dumbledore and Crouch. Next, he worked on the letter for Remus. He figured it would be easier to contact Remus and have him relay messages to Sirius as Harry felt it was too dangerous to contact Sirius directly. The letter to Remus was practically the same as his letter to Bill except Harry mentioned his actions the night of Halloween in the letter. He had asked both men to meet with him as early as they could that saturday at Hogsmeade so that they could discuss some things in person. Harry wanted the meeting to be early because he still hoped to be able to take Hermione out. He was not going to let this stupid tournament get in his way of a date with Hermione.

'Hermione,' Harry thought. 'She believes me. I could see it in her face. She believes me.' Harry looked down at his list and added one last item.

"4. Keep Hermione close."

After he was finished, Harry rolled up his two letters and left to go to the owlery. As he was leaving, he made a note to check out the windows near the hidden room. Harry was able to figure what part of the castle he was in based off the fact that he could make out the western end of the Black Lake from his vantage point. He also knew he was on the top floor due to how how high up he was. Harry expertly navigated his way to the owlery and found a wide awake Hedwig.

"You knew I was coming didn't you girl." A tiny bark signaled to Harry that he was right. Harry placed one letter in Hedwig's beak and the other in one's her talons. "Go to Bill first. I want you rest after you drop off the letter and then go find Remus. I don't you flying back to back without taking a rest first." Hedwig simply barked and gave a quick peck to Harry's finger before flying out into the night.

Harry finally made it back to the Gryffindor Tower to once again find Hermione asleep on the couch. He hadn't realized how late it was until he looked at the clock on the mantelpiece. It read 3 o'clock in the morning. Harry was about to pull the blanket over her just like he did the night before when he heard a voice.

"Not this time Potter." Harry was shocked to see that Hermione was somehow still awake. "You won't be getting away from me that easily tonight."

Hermione started to sit up and Harry gave her a hand. "Hermione, you need to go to sleep. We can talk about this another time."

"Harry, let's talk about this now," Hermione said, following it up with a big yawn.

"No. Hermione, you're and tired and frankly, so am I. I promise we will talk about this but not now."

"When Harry?" Hermione was being rather defiant so Harry played the only card he had.

"How about this saturday? I am hoping to have a meeting with Bill and Remus about this whole thing. I will have to tell them everything anyway so I might as well have you there as well."

Hermione was curious about what Harry had just said. It almost seemed that Harry had come up with some kind of...plan. "And what would this meeting entail, Harry?"

"We will be going over whether or not there is some loophole that could get me out of this. If not, then I guess we will try to come up with some plans that could help me stay alive through this blasted thing."

"Okay, I guess that would work."

"Well I am glad you feel that way. And maybe once the meeting is over, you and me could spend the rest of the day in each others company. How does that sound to you?"

Harry noticed at once how Hermione attitude had changed. The look of worry that had been etched on her face was gone and a look of excitement had replaced it. "If I didn't know any better Harry, I would say you were asking me out."

"Well you did say that there was a chance that the girl I liked could be asked by somebody else before I plucked up my courage. So I decided to take the girl I like advice and I asked without delay. Well, would do you say." While Harry had been confident in the first part of his speech, he had become rather nervous when he asked that final question. However, his fears were for naught as Hermione leaned forward and placed a kiss to his cheek.

"I would love to go on a date with you Harry," Hermione said, blushing furiously.

"Perfect. Now you go upstairs and get some sleep."

"You too, Harry."

Harry helped Hermione off the couch and they both made their way towards their respective staircases. As Hermione was heading upstairs, she stopped and turned back towards Harry.

" I believe you. I know you didn't enter your name in that goblet."

Harry knew that Hermione believed him but he couldn't believe how good it felt to actually hear her say it out loud. "I know Hermione, you didn't have to say it."

Hermione started to walk back down the stairs and grabbed hold of Harry's hands. "Yes I did. You needed to be absolutely sure that someone believed you."

"Hermione, if I can't trust you then I would have no one to trust." Tears were gathering in Hermione's eyes at Harry's sincere words. Harry slowly lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. Hermione let out a slight gasp at the intimate nature of the gesture. Harry then raised his other hand to her cheek and pulled her face towards his.

'Oh My God, he's going to kiss me,' Hermione thought. Hermione closed her eyes waited for his lips to be on hers. She was slightly disappointed when he had kissed her forehead instead but it was still progress in her book. Harry was initiating contact. He never did that before but now, he was doing it all the time and it thrilled her that she was the one with whom he was doing it with.

"Good night Hermione," Harry said, staring deeply into her eyes.

"Good night, My Champion," Hermione replied, smirking.

Harry smiled at her. Only she could make something like that adorable.

"Know-it-all."

"Prat."

And with that, the two teens went up to their dorms. Unfortunately for Harry, he was once again met with silence as he entered his room.

"I knew you were lying. I knew the whole time that you just..." Harry cut Ron off quickly.

"Shut up Ron. I have no patience to hear you bitch and complain. You think I'm a cheater, so be it. But the fact is I couldn't care less what you think of me. I only care about one person's opinions and that person believes me." With that said, Harry got into his bed and went to sleep.

The next few days were tough for Harry. It seemed the entirety of the school, including the visiting students, believed him guilty. Even the people in his own house didn't completely believe him. Yes, they did support him but they did not believe that he didn't enter his name into the goblet. It seemed that the only people who believed him, aside from Hermione, were the twins, Ginny, the Gryffindor chasers and Neville.

However, it wasn't until Friday that everything finally came to a head. Harry and Hermione had just left their Arithmancy class when they ran into several Hufflepuff students.

"Well, if it isn't the false champion. Oops, I meant fourth champion." The Puffs all laughed at the impressively bad joke.

"Just ignore them Harry."

"Yeah Potter, just ignore us. Just like you ignored the rules of the tournament."

'God this guy is bad at telling jokes,' Harry thought. Harry and Hermione finally made it past the group when a girl called out after them.

"We know the truth Potter. The entire school knows you were out Halloween night and didn't come back until well after curfew so stop lying."

Harry stopped suddenly. 'How the hell would they know that. Only three people knew that I was...' Harry thoughts trailed when he figured out what happened. Harry turned back around and addressed the girl. Harry did not appreciate being called a liar.

"I'm sorry but what is your name?"

The Hufflepuff simply smirked and replied, "Hannah."

"I see. Parents too embarrassed to let you share their last name?" The entire group of Hufflepuff students were shocked by Harry's response. None had known Harry to be that quick on the uptake. Or him to be that vicious with a retort.

"Apologize now."

"And whom may I ask is giving these orders?"

"My name is Ernie."

"Is one of the requirements for being a Hufflepuff not to have a last name. I must say it must be really confusing when the mail comes."

The Hufflepuffs were now starting to get irritated. They were being upstaged by this kid and even worse, a crowd was starting to gather.

"My last name is Macmillan and her last name," pointing to Hannah, "is Abbott. Now you will apologize or you will be sorry."

"That's a bit redundant don't you think," Harry said smirking. "I mean, if I apologize, wouldn't that mean that I am sorry." The crowd was starting to snicker at the Hufflepuffs. Harry was eviscerating them with his words and they weren't clever enough to come back with anything.

"Now you listen here..."

"No, you listen. I don't appreciate being called a liar as your friend just did. Now, I'm sure we can work things out if she tells me who has been telling people that I was sneaking around the castle on Halloween night."

Hannah sneered at Harry before replying, "A little bird told me."

Harry sighed loudly. "Does this bird have red plumage?" The Hufflepuffs look confused before Harry clarified his statement. "Oh for Merlin's sake, did the git have red hair?" The silence that followed let Harry know his answer.

"I'm not the liar Harry. You are." Ron, as if on cue, left the crowd and entered the center of this ever growing circle. "You were out late that night. And since you are being too much of a coward, I thought it was right to tell Cedric the truth."

"Ron, everyone, did I ever deny I was out that night? Did anyone even ask? No. However, what I said was the truth. I didn't enter my name into the goblet." Harry stared at Ron with a look that could kill. "You know I can't believe I made the same mistake my father did."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Like my dad, I had a friend. A friend that we each could call brother. But that friend was weak and pathetic and paranoid. He was jealous of all the things my father was. He couldn't match up to him in any way as a wizard or as a man. So when he got his chance to feel important, he betrayed my father to his death. Seems I am more like my father than I thought."

Ron, whose anger had been growing through Harry's speech, exploded. "I am nothing like Pettigrew. I am a strong wizard. I am not weak like him." Harry merely stared at his former friend then silently turned his back to him.

"How dare you turn your back on me. That's it Harry. We are not friends anymore. You won't have me around to save you anymore." Ron then heard someone laugh in the crowd. He looked around and saw the person mocking him. "What's so funny Hermione?"

"The fact that you think that you have, at any point, actually saved Harry. He's right Ron..All you do is leech off of people."

"Better than being some tart who humps at Harry's leg like a little dog." The entire crowd was shocked by Ron's outburst, no one more so than Hermione. Even the Ginny and the twins couldn't believe that Ron had gone so low. They were starting to wonder what was going on with their brother. However, there was one person who was more than willing to act.

"Stupify!" The red light shot across the hallway and impacted Ron square in his chest. Hermione turned her head to see that it was Harry that fired off the spell. Harry noticed one of the Creevey brother run off, probably to tell a teacher of what was going on.

"Ronald, I will tell you this only once. You ever insult Hermione like that again and there will be one less Weasley in the world." The threat was clear and if Harry's tone of voice wasn't convincing enough, his eyes were. Ron had seen that look in Harry's eyes only once before. It was when he vowed he would destroy whatever petrified Hermione, a promise Ron was all too aware that Harry had kept.

"Fine. Keep her. Not like I ever liked her. You are cut-off from us Harry. You can't visit the Burrow anymore. And not to mention that Fred, George and Ginny are all on my side."

"Nope," Fred and George said simultaneously.

Ron looked even angrier at their response. "What do you mean no? We're family."

"Actually dear brother..."

"We're blood..."

"But after what you just said..."

"And the fact that you ratted Harry out..."

"We really can't call you family." It was Ginny that finished off the twins rant.

This shocked Harry more than it shocked Ron. He couldn't believe that they were siding with him over their own brother. Ron, embarrassed beyond belief, squeaked out, "I'm telling mum," before running off. Harry caught the eyes of the twins and simply nodded, thanking them for their support.

"While that was very entertaining Harry, it does still beg the question of where you were that night?"

Harry turned back around and found himself at Cedric Diggory, the "rightful" Hogwarts champion. "I mean Harry, if your innocence is so important why not tell what you were doing and we could simply put this all to rest."

While Cedric's words seemed sincere, there was something about his eyes that made Harry distrust him. However, he brought up a good point. If Harry just told everyone what he was doing, they would all get off his back.

'They won't believe you.'

Harry paused as he wondered where that thought came from.

'Of course they will believe me. I mean giving the circumstances, it is a pretty good excuse.'

'It won't matter. They have already made up their minds that you cheated. Even if you tell the truth, they will still believe you ended up going to the Great Hall and entered your name. There is no one to support your claims. You were all by yourself.'

'You're right.' He hated to admit it was the cynical part of his brain was right. They wanted him to be the villain and nothing would change their views. 'So what should I do?'

'Challenge them. They think they know the truth but they are sheep. They believe whatever story is most convenient. Make them question themselves.'

When Harry focused back on the situation, he noticed that more people had shown up. Students, teachers, even the other champions gathered around to watch this confrontation.

"Well Harry? Do you have an answer?"

"Does it matter?"

"Excuse me?" Cedric was caught off guard by the question.

"Does it matter? My answer. If I tell you the truth, you could still believe that I entered the tournament. So really why should I answer? You have all made up your minds about my guilt so why should I give you more ammunition." Harry was starting to pick up a head of steam and Cedric realized that he may not end up looking good when this was over.

"Look Harry..." Cedric started but he was quickly cut off.

"No you look Cedric. Let's get this all out in the open. You along with everybody else think I'm a cheater who lied his way into this tournament. But let's think about that. If you were going to cheat, wouldn't you do it in a way so that you wouldn't get caught. That would be the smart thing to do but apparently I'm too stupid to realize that. Instead I made myself the fourth champion in a tournament that is only supposed to have three."

Harry's rant was causing some of the crowd to start to think about the circumstances surrounding Harry's involvement. Harry was indeed correct that a cheater never did anything that would allow him to be caught so why did Harry do something that made it so obvious that he cheated.

"Which brings me to my next point. If I was smart enough to figure out how to bypass all the spells on the goblet and powerful enough to pull them off, why wouldn't I just enter myself as the Hogwarts champion. Clearly if I was that capable, the goblet would have picked me over you. I mean, let's be honest Cedric, my record is far more impressive than yours." Harry then started to list all of his accomplishments since entering Hogwarts.

"I have defeated a fully grown mountain troll. I am the only person to survive the killing curse. I've bested Voldemort twice. I killed a basilisk. And just a few months ago, I cast a corporeal patronus that drove away over fifty dementors.."

"Bullshit," Ernie said. "There is no way you could do..."

Ernie shut his mouth when Harry raised his wand.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A silver stag burst forth, stunning all who watched into silence. A few seconds later, Harry allowed his stag to dissipate.

"Anything else Mr. MacMillan." Ernie shook his no and walked back into the crowd. "As I was saying. If I did all the thing you people claim then why wouldn't I just make myself Hogwarts champion. The only you have over me Cedric is that handed me my first quidditch lose which occurred because I was attacked by dementors. Clearly I would have been chosen over you as Hogwarts champion and we wouldn't be having this little gathering. But instead, I am the fourth champion."

"And it is that that makes me the angriest. Because if the roles were reversed and Cedric was the fourth champion and I the rightful Hogwarts champion, this whole cheating thing wouldn't really be an issue. Yeah, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons would have a problem but you other houses wouldn't have said a thing. In fact, you all would have probably congratulated him on being clever enough to find a way into the tournament. But because it's me, you all find fault in it. You speak of how I want more glory for myself. Need I remind you people that the glory you speak of came at the price of my parents."

"You know what? At first, I didn't really care about this. I was angry, you can be assured of that but I never wanted to win. I just wanted to survive. But not anymore. Now, I want to win this tournament. And not just win, but embarrass you," pointing to Cedric, "and you," pointing to Viktor, "and you," finishing at Fleur. "That is what I want now. And then when this is all over and I find out who did this, I am not going to say I told you. Instead, I'm just going to walk away, letting you wallow in the fact that not only were you wrong but also that you were bested by a fourteen year-old."

With all that said Harry turned to leave. The crowd open up to allow him to pass through. As he was walking through, he spotted Hermione and offered her his hand. She took it immediately and the two of them continued to walk away. She had never seen Harry act like that before. He was articulate with his argument and made the entire school look like idiots. Hermione knew she was attracted to Harry but watching him use his mind like he just did made her downright horny. She blushed at these thoughts and hoped that Harry wouldn't notice.

"You okay Hermione?" Too late.

"I'm fine Harry. Just proud of you. You used your words to beat them. You didn't have to resort to your wand."

"What about Ron?'

Hermione thought for a second. "Fuck Ron."

"Language Hermione. I fear I'm becoming a bad influence on you."

"Well maybe I want to be bad Harry." With that, Hermione pushed Harry against the wall and kissed him passionately. Harry, to his credit, was only momentarily shocked by his Hermione's actions. Soon, he found himself kissing her back with as much passion. After about a minute the two teens pulled themselves apart. Harry was the first one to regain his composure.

"Wow. Not that I don't want to seem ungrateful but what was that for Hermione?"

Hermione looked back at Harry, a sly smile on her face. "You seemed stressed Harry. I just wanted you to relieve some stress. Was the contact unwanted?"

"No, it most certainly was not. But is that the only reason you kissed me? To help me relieve stress."

Hermione leaned in close and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "No."

"Prat," Harry whispered against her lips.

"Know-It-All."

**A/N: So there's Harry big explosion. This also sets up the Harry-Cedric feud and the Harry-Ron feud. I always found book-Ron to be an asshole while movie-Ron had more redeeming qualities.**

**Also, we see Harry using his brain in this chapter. Indeed, it is atthis point where Harry's more Slytherin nature kicks in**


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